After working with children's illustrations for a long time, I needed to take some time for myself doing a little personal work. I really wanted to create something that mimicked the covers of pulp magazines, but that was also an exercise in lighting. With such a clear idea of what I wanted, I called my friends Jafet and Candela to pose, to get a reliable reference for lighting and shadows. The truth is that it was fun and they did great. I know it's very difficult to look terrified of an innocent flexo pointed at your face, but they got into the role immediately. Thanks guys!

I started sketching from this reference. I wanted my characters to face something that was unbeatable. A lost battle. So I chose a Chthonian, a creature from Lovecraft's "Cthulhu Mythos". They are huge creatures that emerge from underground, with a mouth full of tentacles. The last thing you would want as a pet.

Once I have the picture on the final paper, I always start with a pencil base. It helps me a lot when painting, because I can draw volume and shadows easily. It also adds texture when airbrushing over it, since airbrushed paint can be very flat and cold.

I start by applying yellow watercolor with a brush in order to mark the highlights from the gunshot, and brown to start marking facial features. Then I switch to airbrushing to get the overall hue of the illustration. This first step takes some time, since you have to apply layer over layer or paint to make gradients. And it is quite demotivating, because everything is so amorphous.

After this, the process is different for each illustration. In this case I began to define the shapes and volumes a bit, working on the whole picture at a time. Meanwhile, I was also painting the midtones of the illustration. This way I avoid the ever-present danger of making something too dark and change the overall lighting concept. When doing this I constantly switch from airbrush to paint brushes and back again.

The major players for the final phase are the smallest brushes. The 3/0 and 5/0 are the best ones for details, and help define shadows, wrinkles, expressions... Once I'm done with that, I use the airbrush for shadows and the overall hue. I use watered down paint and apply it in very thin layers to avoid paint spots.

A picture for those of you who think that the life of an illustrator is glamourous. That's me, wild hair and an old jersey that I would not mind staining with paint.

Done! Just look at the table. One of my favorite moments is when I remove the masking tape from the paper. The illustration looks great when you remove all that dirt and brush stains from the edges.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and that it was helpful for you. Sorry for the pictures, they were made with my cellphone because I was posting this drawing in real time as a step-by-step on my twitter account. I promise I will post better pictures next time. ;D